What started as a small community athletics programme at Aberdeen Sports Village has grown into a thriving pathway helping hundreds of young people discover athletics, build confidence and develop new opportunities both on and off the track.
For more than five years, ASV and Aberdeen Amateur Athletic Club (AAAC) have worked together to deliver community athletics sessions designed to make the sport accessible, welcoming and enjoyable for children across Aberdeen.
The sessions were created to give young people the chance to try athletics in a fun, supportive environment while also creating clear pathways into club athletics, coaching and volunteering. They also reflect ASV’s wider commitment to creating opportunities for people of all ages and abilities to get active, develop skills and be part of a sporting community.
Starting in November 2020, the programme began with one-hour sessions on Tuesday and Thursday evenings at ASV’s athletics track, initially offering just 32 spaces per week.
Today, around 120 children attend the sessions every week.
For many, it is their first experience of athletics and the first time using ASV’s indoor and outdoor facilities. Across the sessions, children can experience a wide range of events including sprinting, hurdles, middle-distance running, high jump, long jump, triple jump, shot put, javelin, discus and hammer throw.
Originally aimed at children aged 8 to 15, demand continued to grow and, in 2023, additional sessions were introduced for Primary 1 to Primary 3 pupils to help younger children get involved earlier and build confidence through sport.
The programme has also helped remove barriers to participation within the local community. Funding from the Magic Wee Grant allowed two additional free sessions to launch in 2022 for children attending schools within the St Machar cluster, helping more families access athletics opportunities close to home.
One of the biggest successes of the programme has been the development pathway it creates. More than 70 children who started in the community sessions have since progressed into AAAC membership sessions, where they can continue training, compete regularly and further develop within the sport.
The impact goes beyond participation alone.
The sessions have also become an important development opportunity for coaches, volunteers and students across the north-east. Delivering the programme each week involves a large team made up of ASV and AAAC coordinators, qualified athletics coaches, assistant coaches and volunteers.
Students from Robert Gordon University, University of Aberdeen and North East Scotland College regularly volunteer at the sessions alongside ASV volunteers and young people completing their Duke of Edinburgh Award, gaining valuable hands-on coaching and leadership experience within a live sporting environment.
Over the last five years, 17 people have gone on to achieve athletics coaching qualifications through their involvement in the programme - helping strengthen the future of athletics coaching across the region.
Together, ASV and AAAC continue to show how community partnerships, high-quality facilities and accessible opportunities can create a lasting impact - supporting participation at every level, from a child trying athletics for the very first time to the next generation of athletes, coaches and volunteers developing within the sport.
